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Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Apr 6, 2013

One man's crusade against America's war on drugs

Once consigned to the fringes of libertarianism, the argument for the legalization of drugs has received an unlikely boost in America in recent months with the release of a documentary titled "The House I Live In." Coinciding with the decision by the states of Colorado and Washington to legalise marijuana,...
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Mar 26, 2013

If corporal punishment works, where are all the champions?

In the final scenes of Aaron Sorkin's powerfully written film "A Few Good Men," one of the U.S. Marines on trial for the murder of a fellow serviceman is bewildered as to why he has not been cleared of all charges after his commanding officer admits ordering the attack. "We did nothing wrong," cries...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 18, 2013

Anti-poverty programs show dubious success

Amid enduring poverty, rising inequality and lackluster growth in many developing countries, the success of past antipoverty policies looks dubious.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 12, 2013

U.S. publicly demands China halt commercial cyber-attacks

In an unusually direct appeal, the Obama administration on Monday called on China to halt its persistent theft of trade secrets from corporate computers and engage in a dialogue to establish norms of behavior in cyberspace.
WORLD
Mar 6, 2013

U.S. air traffic control errors spike

Federal investigators confirmed Monday that errors by the nation's air traffic controllers have increased sharply, challenging the Federal Aviation Administration's contention that most of the jump was due to better data collection.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 1, 2013

Afghanistan's legacy of child opium addiction

A report just released by the United Nations Mission in Afghanistan states that there were 2,754 civilian deaths and 4,805 civilian injuries in that country during 2012. Unmentioned is a serious side effect of the conflict: the high number of opium-addicted children in Afghanistan.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Feb 27, 2013

Seniors forced to go it alone as ranks swell, housing eludes

Itoko Uchida, 82, was counting on the nephew she raised to support her in old age. He refused, forcing her to pay for a sponsor to join the 420,000-long line of Japanese waiting for a nursing home bed.
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 20, 2013

Chinese struggle in 'airpocalypse'

China's toxic air pollution is exacting a toll, as more people suffer coughing attacks and are forced to stay indoors, especially anywhere near Beijing.
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2013

Naming slain captives raises privacy issues

The victims' right to privacy was pitted against the public's right to know as the media pressed for the names of the Algerian hostage crisis victims to be disclosed while the government and JGC Corp. remained tight-lipped, but Tokyo finally caved Friday, revealing the identities of the firm's 10 slain...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 23, 2013

Putting Pyongyang's gulags on the world's radar

Under North Korea's guilt-by-association system, as many as three generations of family members are punished to eliminate the 'seeds' of dissent.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 21, 2013

Panama Canal expansion spurs race to fit supersized ships

This is a story about big, and how one of the biggest construction projects in the world, the remaking of the Panama Canal, will let bigger boats sail into deeper harbors, where authorities are spending billions dredging channels, blasting tunnels and buying cranes from China the size of 14-story buildings...
JAPAN / CABINET INTERVIEW
Dec 31, 2012

Altering nonnuclear principles not on the table, Kishida says

The Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is not considering revising the three nonnuclear principles that forbid the possession, manufacture or storage of nuclear weapons on Japanese soil, new Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida says.
BUSINESS
Dec 19, 2012

Cyprus faces default 'within days'

Nicosia AFP-JIJI
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 18, 2012

IMF economists see perils in China's investment binge

China's investment binge has been the envy of many other countries, not least India where inadequate roads mean that 40 percent of crops are spoiled on the way to market, and Japan, where 30-year-old tunnels are passing their sell-by dates and maintenance is not keeping up with demand.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 1, 2012

Fair trade slowly catching on here

Hirokazu Kanetaka, who works in the cafe section of restaurant operator Zensho Holdings Co., was thrilled when an elementary school teacher in Rwanda thanked the company for helping students get to school on time.
COMMENTARY
Sep 21, 2012

What grooms a physician to oversee torture?

It was an unusual event in July at the Libertad (Freedom) prison in Uruguay. Miguel Angel Estrella, an Argentine pianist, was giving a concert in the same prison where he had been imprisoned and tortured 32 years earlier.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media
Sep 16, 2012

'The government could still save lives'

In the immediate aftermath of last year's Fukushima triple meltdown, Japan's government and pronuclear experts scrambled to dampen public concern. Experts waved away fears about radiation, cabinet ministers scoffed at comparisons to Chernobyl, and the word "meltdown" itself was effectively scoured from...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues
Sep 15, 2012

U.S. Agent Orange activist brings message of solidarity to Okinawa

Residents of Okinawa Island have recently been confronted with mounting evidence that their land used to be a major storage site for the toxic U.S. defoliant Agent Orange.
COMMENTARY
Sep 13, 2012

Airports: too few or too many?

A hot political question in London in recent weeks has been the need for more airport capacity to meet the needs of business in the 21st century. A neutral observer might think that this is essentially a matter that should be settled on the basis of supply and demand and the relationship between these...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 31, 2012

Reverse imports on the rise thanks to strong yen

Japan Inc. has found a new export market: Japan.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 27, 2012

Middle East buildup refutes critics of Obama

Here are some facts that should be considered by those who criticize the Barack Obama administration for "leading from behind" in the troubled Middle East.
COMMENTARY
Aug 1, 2012

Disease hindering the development of Africa

The high cost of treating certain diseases, most notably HIV/AIDS, when coupled with the indirect costs from lost worker productivity, is having a serious negative impact on African economies. More effort must go toward primary care, especially in rural areas, accompanied by activities to promote health,...
Japan Times
LIFE
Jul 22, 2012

A century of Tokyo taxis

The year 1912 is recorded in Japan both as the 45th year of Meiji Era and the first year of the Taisho Era. After a protracted illness, Emperor Mutsuhito expired, age 61, on the night of July 29 (although the official announcement came the next day). Through the remainder of the summer, the front pages...
COMMENTARY
Jun 28, 2012

China's iron fist in a velvet glove

China could easily grab control of the disputed Scarborough Shoal fishing grounds in the South China Sea using its increasingly modern and powerful armed forces. Chinese naval, air and amphibious units, working in unison, already have the capability to enforce Beijing's claims of island ownership and...
Japan Times
JAPAN / History
Jun 10, 2012

The Marshall Islands: Tropical idylls scarred like Tohoku

With all its American, European and Asian cultural influences, it's easy to forget that Japan is also an island nation in the Pacific.
COMMENTARY
Jun 7, 2012

Thirst for energy driving China's foreign policy

The United States and China, the world's top users of energy, are heading in opposite directions. It is a trend that has major geostrategic implications for the Asia-Pacific region.
BUSINESS
May 8, 2012

Buffett eyes opportunities to expand across Asia

Warren Buffett, the billionaire chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., said he's pursuing more opportunities in Asia after boosting reinsurance sales and expanding the Iscar Metalworking Co. unit on the continent.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’